Aida Shahghasemi is a Minneapolis based musician with roots in Iran. She studied Psychology and Anthropology at University of Minnesota with a focus on the cultural aspects of Persian Classical Music and the restrictions imposed on the voices of Iranian female vocalists. She received her Masters degree from New York University in Arts Politics where she also served as an adjunct instructor teaching a course she developed on arts activism in Iran. She has worked with a number of different Art and Social Advocacy groups in New York and Minnesota as a musician, graphic designer, and developer and has served as an Assistant Program Coordinator at Hamline University’s Making Waves Social Justice Theatre Troupe. She has been a touring member of Iron and Wine and Marketa Irglova’s band while also being a recording artist on two of Glen Hansard’s albums. Her three albums are “Wind Between the Horse’s Ears,” released in 2015, “Cypress of Abarkooh,” released in 2019 and “Chashmandaaze Rooydaad,” released in August of 2022. She is a McKnight Music Fellow and serves as an adjunct faculty in the MFA program at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Aida is a mental health therapist at Hiraeth Psychotherapy and works primarily with adults and couples dealing with trauma.

Shahin Najafi is a musician, poet, singer, and social activist. He was born in 1980 to a middle-class family in Bandar-e Anzali, Iran, the youngest of eight children. He started writing poetry and learning to play classical and flamenco guitar in his teens. He turned to rock music, often performing as an underground musician.
​
As a young activist, Shahin's lyrics often conveyed strong and controversial messages about Iranian society. This attracted the disapproval of Iranian authorities and in 2004, the threat of persecution forced him to leave Iran.
In 2005, Shahin moved to Germany. Dubbed the "angry bard", he continued to write and perform music that was critical of conditions in Iran: poverty, oppression of women, homophobia, censorship, ideological dogmas, violence and cultural taboos. For a time, his career veered into rap and hip hop, bringing him fame among young fans back in Iran. These days, Shahin's music fuses rock, jazz, and blues with lyrics that demand change.
​
In 2012, Shahin released his most controversial song: Naghi. In it, he exhorts a Shiite Imam named Naghi to help solve some of the problems plaguing Iran. But religious hardliners called the song an insult to Imams, a crime severely punished in Iran, and used Fatwas (religious edicts) to demand his death. Around the world, politicians, scholars, musicians, and devoted fans rose to Shahin’s defence, propelling him into the limelight as a proponent of free speech.
​
In 2013, Shahin Najafi's book Wenn Gott Schläft (When God is Asleep) was published. This collection of his original poems, lyrics and observations tell of his personal struggles with religion and provide searing insights into the true nature of Iranian society.
​
Shahin Najafi lives in Germany, and is still at odds with Iranian authorities. He remains a dedicated and defiant artist who refuses to be silenced, delivering his message to enthusiastic audiences wherever he tours. His fan base continues strong in Iran and has spread around the world.

Raphael is following